The Grenada sentinel., 1887-02-26
LlNCOLN'S BOYHOOD,
The Early Hardships Which Made the
"Martyr President" Strong.

The Early HardshlpS winch Made the
"Martyr President" Strong.
Abraham Lincoln was born in Ken
lucky, but while he was little boy his
father, Thomas Lincoln, moved with
his family to Indiana. Thomas Lin
coin, with the assistance of his wife
and children, built temporary shelter
of the sort called in the frontier Ian
guage "a half-faced camp;" merely
shed of poles, which defend the in
mates on three sides from the foul
weather, but left them open to It's in.
clemency in front. For a whole year
his family lived in this wretchedfold,
while he was clearing a little patch Of
ground for planting corn and building
rough cabin for permanent
residence. They moved into the latter
before it was half completed, but the
rude cabin seemed SO spacious andeom-
Portable after the squalor Of ''the
camp" that Thomas Lincoln did no
further work on it for a long time. He
left it for year or two without doors
or windows or floor The battle for
existence allowed him no time for su-
perhuities like these.
He raised enough corn to support
life; the dense forest around him
abounded in every form of feathered
game; little way from his cabin an
open glade was full of deer-licks, and
an hour or two of idle waiting was gen.
| eraIl; rewarded by shot at q fine deer,
winch would furnish meat for week,
| and material for breeches or shoes His
cabin was like that of other pioneers.
A few three-legged stools; bedstead
made of poles stuck between the logsin
the angle of the cabin, the outside
corner supported by crotchet stick
driven into the ground; the table,
huge hewed log standing on four legs;
pot, kettle and skillet, and few tin
and pewter dishes, were all the furni-
ture. The boy Abraham climbed at
night to his bed of leaves in the loft by
ladder of wooden pins driven into the
logs
'lt was a wild region" writes Mr.
Lincoln, in one of those rare bits Of
autobiography which he left behind
him. "with many bears and other wild
animals still in the woods. There were
some schools, so called, but no quail
fication was required of teacher
beyond 'readin', 'writin', and
cypherin' to the Rule of Three II a
straggler supposed to understand batin
happened to sojourn in the neighbor-
hood, he was looked upon as a wizard.
There was absolutely nothing to excite
ambition for an education. ..
But in the case of this ungainly boy
there was no necessity for any external
incentive. A thirst of knowledge as
means of rising in the world was in
nate in him. The schools were much
alike. They We're held in deserted
cabins of round logs, as distinguished
from the more aristocratic "split' logs,
with earthen floors and small holes Tor
windows, sometimes illuminated by as
much light as could penetrate through
panes of paper creased with lard. Inc
teachers were usually in keeping with
their primitive surroundings. His last
school days were passed with one
Swaney, in 1926, who taught at dis
tance of four and a half miles from the
Lincoln cabin. The nine miles Oh
walking doubtless seemed to Thomas
Lincoln a waste of time, and the Lao
was put at steady work and saw DO
more of school. Golden Days.